HERE COMES THE SUN: DM TRADITIONS THROUGH THE YEARS
SUMMER DELANEY If you ask any Northwestern student what their favorite NU memory is, more likely than not their answer will be Dance Marathon. In its 39 years of existence, the event has transformed from a Homecoming weekend partner dance contest in a Blomquist gym to a 30-hour marathon behind Norris that shuts down campus for a weekend every March. While most people love DM and the life-changing rollercoaster of emotions it brings, it is much more than just a Northwestern tradition. In fact, it’s traditions on traditions on traditions. Here are some of those annual occurrences that motivate students every year to once again lace up their sneakers and spend 30 hours in a tent.
30-Hour Dance From “HEY” by 3OH!3 to “International Love,” the 30-Hour Dance is a unifying experience to all dancers regardless of dorm or group affiliation. Every year, members of the Dancer Relations committee teach segments of choreography to a specific song throughout all 10 blocks. Before the total is released, the whole song plays and all dancers and committee members perform the finished masterpiece with every last ounce of energy they have. Dancers are never able to listen to the year’s selected song without breaking out into the synchronized movements ever again.
The 6:45 AM run-around Norris Since at least 2009, the tradition of running around the tent after Block four has become a staple that signifies that a new day of dancing has begun. At around 6:45 a.m. dancers are ushered out of the North side of the tent and run around the perimeter to greet a new day and wake-up after dancing the night away. This is the last opportunity for any dancers to escape DM by running away across the Lakefill (jailbreaks have occurred in years past). It is also the first and only chance to see sunlight during the 30-hour marathon.
The Marching Band Wake-Up Call After the adrenaline has worn off from the morning jog, dancers sit eating breakfast while the Northwestern University Marching Band acts as their alarm. In addition to NUMB’s ear-blasting performance, other dance and music groups take the stage while dancers try to stay awake through breakfast.
DM Karaoke Every block or so, iconic songs are chosen and lyrics are shown on the DM monitors for dancers to sing along to. From “American Pie” to “500 Miles”, whenever these classics come on the whole tent is filled with the sound of voices jamming out to these popular tunes, jumping up-and-down and creating a Sandstorm mosh-pit environment.
Three Songs at Sunrise At the end of Block four, the sun rises and three songs play in the same order each year: “Here Comes The Sun”, “Piano Man” and “Seasons of Love”. These songs remind everyone that they chose to dance for a reason, not just to add another philanthropic event to add on a résume. At the end of the night where people are at their lowest of lows and not ready to face a new day, the songs give people the strength and hope to greet what is to come. “All the students start to realize why they are doing this and that they are actually making an impact,” Maura Brannigan, the DM 2012 Public Relations cochair, commented about the song sequence. “All of the money they’ve raised leading up to the actual event is really going to make a difference; it’s the first time that all thousand students really see the impact that DM has in their lives and the lives of other people.”